ICT in Regional Development

Purpose The present study aimed to examine the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICT) diffusion, financial development and economic growth in the panel of developing countries for 2005–2019. Design/methodology/approach The study employed the principal component analysis (PCA) to extract the index of ICT diffusion. First-generation panel unit root tests such as Levine Lin Chu (LLC), Im Pesaran Shin (IPS), Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips and Perron (PP) were employed to check the stationarity of the variables. Pedroni and Kao co-integration techniques were used to examine the existence of the long-run relationship, and co-integration coefficients were estimated using FMOLS and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS). The panel Granger causality approach examined the short-run and long-run causality. Findings The results confirmed that ICT diffusion, financial development and trade openness accelerate growth, whereas inflation dampens economic growth. Further, the causality test showed bidirectional causality between ICT growth and financial development growth but a unidirectional causality from financial development to ICT diffusion in developing countries. Originality/value The study recommends synchronizing public and private sector investment for a synergistic effect on ICT infrastructure and adequate investment in the financial sector to increase the growth rate in developing countries. Economic policies should be adopted toward incentives and subsidies to ensure affordable ICT services for disadvantaged communities. Also, training programs focussing on enhancing digital literacy to enable all segments of the population to use digital platforms for financial services are recommended.

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant increase in information and communication technology (ICT) investments around the world, resulting in a rise in the use of modern ICT packages. Sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries, however, face different challenges. This study examines the relationship between ICT diffusion, foreign direct investment (FDI), trade openness, and economic globalization on inclusive growth for 48 SSA countries during 2005–2020. We use the modified generalized method of moments method for estimation. Empirical results reveal that ICT has a positive and significant influence on inclusive growth, while trade and economic globalization have a negative impact. FDI, on the other hand, has a favorable and considerable effect on inclusive growth. Inflation and vulnerable employment have negative impacts on inclusive growth, whereas social protection has a positive impact. From a policy standpoint, it is recommended that policymakers focus on enhancing ICT penetration in the region, particularly integrating ICT into the educational system to improve learning effectiveness and reduce research costs. Additionally, the interaction between economic globalization and ICT diffusion can enhance inclusive growth. Therefore, macroeconomic policies should promote ICT development, implement sound trade agreements, and attract capital inflows for inclusive economic growth. ICT diffusion is deemed both necessary and sufficient for SSA's advancement.

Several studies have proven a positive impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on economic growth. Nevertheless, some studies have suggested a limited effect, while others have found no statistically significant effect. Faced with this problem, we conducted a study with the aim to assess the role of moderation of ICT diffusion between financial development and economic expansion in Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 2019. Using the bootstrap approach for the ARDL model, the results prove that financial development as well as ICT diffusion affect negatively (positively) economic development. The financial development interaction term with ICT diffusion has a positive and statistically significant effect on economic growth. The results suggest that ICT diffusion does not only directly impact economic growth but also increase the indirect impact of financial development on economic growth. This result indicates that ICT diffusion boosts the role of financial development in economic development. This means that financial development can only boost the Saudi economy when ICTs are well developed.

With the rapid global spread and application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the question is whether every culture makes similar use of the ideology that often underlies its creators’ design. ICT applications are designed with underlying beliefs or principles about e.g., work, communication, and individuality. These beliefs or principles are invisible and hidden in software and, as such, in many instances not recognized by users in other cultures. These hidden principles might even frustrate the understanding, use, knowledge-sharing, and e-collaboration between people from different cultures. In this article, we aim to explore, from a historical point of view, the early years of adaptation of ICT in developing countries, and we will highlight the importance of the use of intercultural (ICT-)skills to learn to recognize cultural differences from a relationship-based definition in technology-mediated collaboration. A semi-systematic or narrative review approach is used that is particularly suitable for topics that have been conceptualized differently. Our review firstly summarizes and categorizes the cultural factors impacting the adaptation and diffusion of ICT, especially in developing countries, and investigates which factors could hinder and/or facilitate the collaboration with other countries. Secondly, the findings of a thorough comparison between different intercultural competencies’ frameworks indicate that intercultural competencies show a combination of motivation, knowledge (-management), and skills, which are key competencies in the light of successful technology-mediated collaboration.

Public administrations have been adopting information and communication technologies (ICT) to transform their internal organization and provide better public services to citizens and firms. However, the external benefits, despite being deemed relevant, have been empirically overlooked. We first explore the relation between ICT diffusion in public administrations and business demography at the municipal level by studying the Italian context. Our results show that ICT diffusion in the PA contributes to significantly reducing the death rate of firms and boosting their turnover rate. The adoption of ICT in the PA also exerts a positive impact on the firm birth rate, although it is not statistically significant. These results shed light on the importance of promoting e‐government and framing coherent digital agendas as public instruments for supporting entrepreneurship and regional economic development.

Information and communication technology (ICT) has changed and continues to change almost every aspect of our daily lives. Our personal lives, social interactions, educational systems, business atmosphere, and corporate culture-everything has changed in one way or another due to advances in the field of ICT. The construction industry is no exception. ICT provides an unprecedented opportunity as well as enormous challenges to the construction industry.

Previous studies have shown that in the higher education sector, information and communication technology (ICT) provides the impetus for change from the traditional concepts of teaching and learning, as well as prime motivation behind the change in scholarly and professional activities. This underscores the importance of ICT in higher education in achieving the goal of providing flexible teaching and learning environments. Consequently, the aim of this study was to answer the empirical question as to what environmental, technological, organizational and individual factors are most likely to influence choice behaviour to use ICT in student learning in Kenyan higher education. Path analysis statistical techniques in structural equation modelling were used. The findings show that environmental, technological, organizational and individual factors play a significant role in ICT diffusion and infusion. It was further observed that the effects of some factors including availability of ICT, access to ICT, and the characteristics of the institution's chief executive officer play a pivotal role in ICT diffusion in a developing country context. This study produced useful insights into the factors that influence technology acceptance decisions by students, and provided new ideas for the management of ICT diffusion and infusion.

The need to prioritize sustainable development is expanding in light of the world's environmental concerns. To address these concerns, entrepreneurship is essential as a catalyst for inventions, economic expansion, and social change. Entrepreneurship activities have direct and indirect effects in the face of environmental risks and uncertainties. This study addresses gaps in understanding entrepreneurship's non-linear and complementarity effects, particularly opportunity-driven entrepreneurship and information and communication technologies (ICT), on the quality of the environment in Saudi Arabia. The dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) method is used to estimate long-run relationships. Saudi Arabia will be the perfect context for sustainability because the country has prioritized sustainability through its Vision 2030, and the Saudi government has substantially supported entrepreneurship. The main contribution of this paper to the existing literature is evident in its examination of the quadratic relationships between both opportunity-driven entrepreneurship and ICT diffusion, including ICT access, use, and skills, on environmental quality. In addition, the study delves into the ICT diffusion's modulating effects on the nexus of opportunity entrepreneurship with environmental quality, providing insights into how these factors can effectively improve environmental quality. The findings show that opportunity entrepreneurship and ICT diffusion initially deteriorate environmental quality before leading to improvements as their levels mature in the economy. Moreover, interactions between ICT proxies and opportunity entrepreneurship yield mixed effects, with negative net effects on CO2 emissions and ecological footprint countered by positive net effects on the environmental performance index. These findings highlight the dual role of ICT diffusion as a contributor to environmental challenges and a potential solution, depending on the level of its diffusion and interaction with entrepreneurial activities. Therefore, policymakers should create plans that encourage and direct business activity toward more environmentally friendly methods. They should also consider the short- and long-term effects of growing digital technologies on environmental sustainability and how they might revolutionize how entrepreneurship and sustainability goals are aligned.

Purpose This study sought to examine the interaction between rural bank performance, information and communication technology (ICT) investment, ICT diffusion and financial development. Design/methodology/approach Data were sourced from the Association of Rural Banks (ARB) Apex and World Development Indicators (WDI) for the period 2014–2020. A total of 122 rural banks were used for this study. The study adopted the two-step system generalized method of moments (SGMM) estimation technique in assessing the interactions among variables. Findings This study found compelling evidence to support the positive effect of ICT investment on banks’ performance (return on asset and net interest margin). Further, ICT diffusion and financial development positively influence banks’ performance. The results show a positive moderating effect exerted by ICT diffusion and financial development on the impact of bank risk (bank stability) and ICT investment on all three performance measures. Originality/value The study focuses on the rural banking sector in the Ghanaian economy, compared to related studies that examine the subject matter for commercial banks. The moderating effects of ICT diffusion and financial development are assessed to guide policy on rural banking development in Ghana.

The grey side of ICT

Regarding the association between information and communication technology (ICT) and economic growth and energy consumption, particularly in developing economies, there is a great deal of controversy and a lack of empirical study. This study applies Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (QARDL) approach to empirically probe into the effect of ICT on energy consumption and economic growth in China. Two corresponding models for energy consumption and economic growth are formulated and the data of all of the variables spanning over 1995-2021 period is taken from different secondary sources. The findings of the study reveal significant and positive impact of ICT on economic growth at all quantiles in the short and long run. Similarly ICT has significant and positive impact on energy consumption also at all quantiles. The Quantile Granger Causality test provides evidence for bidirectional causality between ICT and economic growth and ICT and energy consumption. Wald test proved the presence of and symmetric and linear association between ICT and economic growth and ICT and energy consumption at quantiles in the long and short run both. In the light of these findings, the study recommends the Chinese government and investors to have more investment in energy efficient ICT products that consume less energy and help increase in economic growth in China.

Hitherto studies regarding ICT diffusion at national/local level mainly focuses on economic growth only by enhanced productivity in domestic industries. As ICT plays a role of General Purpose Technology with its variability and adaptability, this research raise the issue about the relationship between human progress and information and communication technology (ICT) at the national level. Author conducts empirical studies with broader and qualitative factor with ICT diffusion through cross-country panel analysis method to test the hypotheses. The results confirm that ICT can drive human progress at the national level, and also contributes to academia for inspecting future changes with human progress with similar studies.

The importance of information and communications technology (ICT) for economic growth and development is widely researched and seemingly well understood, but the effect of such investments on income inequality is less well documented. On the one hand, improvements in infrastructure are expected to expand economic opportunities for previously underserved populations. On the other hand, ICT growth may exacerbate inequality due to differential access and skill premiums. We use panel data from 109 countries during the period 2001–2014 to examine the empirical connection between ICT and income inequality in a cross-national context. Our results suggest that the effect of ICT on income inequality depends both on the specific type of ICT and on the measure of income inequality. In addition, the magnitude of ICT’s effect on income inequality is comparable to that of more traditional forms of economic infrastructure. Finally, we find that the association between ICT and income inequality is conditional on other economic and political characteristics.

Concerns about inequalities deriving from the penetration of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) have only recently become a widely debated issue in industrial societies. Until the 1980s the diffusion of ICT was mainly considered a matter of technological innovation regarding selected fields and limited territorial areas (such as the military and academic centers in the U.S.). Gradually, scholars started to point to the rise of an information society based on the production of information as the crucial resource to manage coordination and control of increasingly interconnected organizational systems (Masuda, 1981; Beniger, 1986; Toffler, 1990). The expression offered an alternative to the otherwise negative definitions used by scholars since the 1970s to identify changes occurring in Western democratic societies (‘post-capitalism’, ‘post-industrialism’, ‘post-materialism’, etc.) (Touraine, 1969; Bell, 1973). The debate over the information society, enthusiastically greeted by some authors (Negroponte, 1995) and critically observed by others (Castells, 1996, 2001; May, 2002; Mattelart, 2003), witnessed since the mid-1990s widespread success in public and political debates (Thomas, 1996). In front of the fast and capillary diffusion of ICTs virtually to all sectors of private and public life, most Western countries’ governments and international organizations have inserted within their policy agendas a reference to the unavoidability, if not desirability, of a radical shift to the new information age. The rhetoric accompanying those discourses often presents the expansion of the ICT sector?and especially the Internet?as offering citizens returns at both the individual and collective level, in the form of greater access to goods and services, increased levels of social and civic participation, and wider economic and working opportunities for all. Presented as a crucial means to participate in the new global information society, ICTs become recognized as a resource that should be fairly distributed among citizens, albeit on the basis of different arguments (ranging from social equity to economic efficiency or global development concerns), often leading to opposite conclusions on the scope for redistributive interventions (Strover, 2003; Selwyn, 2007).

This study uses a systematic literature review, or SLR, to examine the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in driving global economic integration. This study uses a systematic literature review, or SLR, to examine the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in driving global economic integration. Through the use of bibliometric analysis using the VOSviewer and PRISMA method, the study identifies research trends, collaborative efforts, and theoretical and empirical knowledge found in the literature from 1990 to 2025. This research focuses on systematic literature (Lit Sistematis). The results show that ICT growth and global economic integration have increased significantly since 2005, with the United States, the United Kingdom, and China making the largest contributions. The theoretical implications highlight the need for more holistic concepts and lengthy studies, while the practical implications highlight the importance of adapting ICT strategies to the local context and encouraging international collaboration. This study provides an important guide for ICT development and the integration of the world economy in the digital age.